President Donald Trump has one ace up his sleeve if worse comes to worst. Many people in America would gladly support First Lady Melania Trump for the new position as Queen of the United States. The same lady we saw ushering the new president on inauguration day has now commanded Deputy National Security Adviser Mira Ricardel into the Washington streets. Donald Trump may not possess an ounce of class, but he does apparently know how to select the right woman.
When the American president selected the grouchy curmudgeon and warmonger John Bolton as his national security advisor, most people fighting against the endless proxy wars the U.S. is involved in breathed out in a collective groan of dismay. Bolton, who’s a continuous war hawk committed to military action and regime change in Syria, Libya, and Iran, is also one of the rudest, crudest, and most socially unacceptable people to ever enter the doors of the White House. Now, according to most of the reports from Washington, one of his deputies forgot her raising and pushed First Lady Melania into a very unusual situation. After some weeks of feuding with Melania Trump’s staff, the Wall Street Journal reported Bolton aide Ricardel was escorted off White House grounds. The First Lady’s office issued a statement saying:
“It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that (Ricardel) no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House.”
It’s been no secret that Bolton has been trying to push people around in the administration since his appointment, but this Ricardel seems to take the cake where forgetting what Mama should have taught her is concerned. People familiar with the situation say Ricardel most recently feuding with members of the first lady’s staff over her trip to Africa. In particular, the Bolton deputy reportedly “quarreled with the first lady’s staff over seating on the plane and use of National Security Council resources.”
Now the White House says Ricardel is lying about her feud with the First Lady, and that she is trying to cover her ass by leaking stories to the contrary. But, Bolton’s right-hand advisor has reportedly had spats with Secretary of Defense Mattis, Chief of Staff John Kelly, and insiders say she leaked negative stories about those Trump advisers too. And we wonder why America’s diplomacy is failing in the world.
The most interesting (and uplifting) aspect of this story is the fact neither Donald Trump, Kelly nor press secretary Sarah Sanders knew the First Lady’s statement was coming. Her banishing of Ricardel, who’s a veteran of at Boeing and the George W. Bush Pentagon, should not be seen as a bad thing like some western media frames the situation. The Daily Beast clamors around suggesting Melania Trump is trying to become her husband’s chief of staff, but I think she’s acting more like a queen. And this, given the fact real democracy is failing the people, may be the best thing in decades for America. Judging from Trump’s elicits so far in his term, listening to the eternal feminine may serve the United States and the world a lot better. For once, I agree with a Daily Beast assessment, as indicated by this paragraph from their story:
“The moment demonstrated what those who know the First Lady well have been insisting for years: that she is a more savvy and ruthless political operator in her husband’s administration than many usually give her credit for. And it suggested that she saw an opening in Kelly’s increasing absence.”
The only thing they got wrong was the position Melania is playing. Chief of staff is a mundane referee job compared to the dignified figure and the omnipotent power of a queen. And trust me, America sorely needs the correct omnipotent queen about now. Best of all, staffers in the know say Melania is a “knife fighter,” someone whose actions are well calculated and wise. Right here let me say; “Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for her majesty Melania,” there’s hope after all.
Further evidence Melania would (will) make confidence, and capable first Queen of America come from Vanity Fair, where Erika Harwood observes how must more comfortable and in her place Melania was as compared to her nervous and edgy husband Donald. This may seem contrite, but if we consider what has been missing in U.S. affairs the last seventy years, Melania Trump and her dignified air impeccable taste would reboot a nation. Here is how Vanity Fair framed Queen Melania:
“The First Lady braved the rain on Sunday in a gray pleated Dior dress, pairing them with a set of black leather gloves. And though her husband may be perpetually uncomfortable in the company of other world leaders, choosing the wrong president to smile at, and picking fights with his host, Melania—always well-dressed, always prepared for a ceremony of some sort—seemed remarkably at home.”
Let’s face it; President Trump looks and acts like a disheveled Shrek in an expensive suit and overcoat and his administration is characterized thusly. Trump is, however, not the worst chief executive in recent history where style, intelligence, and wisdom are concerned. The recent presidents exhibit a kind of idiotic alpha male retardedness which has damaged our legacy irreparably. While we certainly do not need a wicked witch feminine imposter like Hillary Clinton at the helm, we absolutely need dignity and quiet intelligence. Further evidence Melania would make a just Queen of America comes from a Vox story about her recent trip to Africa. Landry Signé of Brookings Institute is quoted as saying:
“You have to respect that she has her own agenda, separate from her husband’s, and having her voice in the White House is important. I think Melania represents a hope that foreign policy will be focused more on development and aid.”
While it’s not necessarily a positive thing for the think tanks and Melanie’s support for CIA backed USAID to be on her agenda, the way she plays the game seems more genuine and noble. On the Africa trip, which most media classified as some kind of a Hollywood photo op, the First Lady actually went to the people and the places where American aid helps the most. Some may dismiss Melania’s visit to Africa as protocol, but her message was to “show the world that we care,” resonates with all Africans, I am sure. Now isn’t this the America we are supposed to be reflecting? Dignified, caring, and powerful when we need to be? Now imagine if you will, a gorgeous and dignified queen on a glorious alabaster throne like Abraham Lincoln sits on at his memorial in Washington, instead of the ugliest and most vile people we could have chosen to lead. Forgive me; I love this vision.
Finally, if we recall the stories that First Lady Melania Trump issued a statement lamenting the separation of refugee children from their parents by Homeland Security we are given a glimpse of what America should be. Lady Melania declared that America should be “a country that governs with heart,” and then Donald Trump reversed his policy. From the White House came stories of how Melania has encouraged a kinder America from the start. And while liberal media portrayed Mrs. Trump negatively as some kind of Medieval intercessor, it is just such intercession that is sorely needed in our world. From London to Berlin and onward to the Clinton Foundation we have women in pants pretending to be men in leadership when genuine femininity and intelligence is what should be admired and sought. Professor Sonja Drimmer at The Atlantic asks Americans not to be taken in by the naive notion of Melania as the good queen, but Drimmer’s heroines and heroes, the Atlantic’s, have failed us all miserably for decades.
I say, “Long live Queen Melania,” and the hope that arises from such potential.
Phil Butler, is a policy investigator and analyst, a political scientist and expert on Eastern Europe, he’s an author of the recent bestseller “Putin’s Praetorians” and other books. He writes exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”